I’m shocked. Not just shocked, but a little bit angry, bewildered and confused too. The reason: I’ve just read that four out of every 10 primary school children in Ireland are allowed to travel in the car without buckling up their seatbelts. That’s almost half!

This startling revelation comes in the official “Annual Survey of Seatbelt Wearing” which found that just 64% of primary school children are safely fastened in when they travel by car.

What are their parents thinking…? More to the point, are they thinking at all?

The head of the Road Safety Authority, Noel Brett, doesn’t go far enough when he describes parents who don’t make sure their children’s seatbelts are fastened as “reckless”. Every time they do so they’re putting their child’s life in danger, and that’s downright criminal!

“Every day in this country, almost two out of every five parents put their children at risk by not strapping them into the back seat of the car,” said Brett. “Parents are prepared to gamble a lifetime of grief for a hassle-free journey.” But where’s the hassle in tying a seatbelt? How will letting a child sit in the back of the car without a belt make the journey any easier for their parents? It makes no sense.

This topic carries particular resonance for me at the moment. Just two months ago we were involved in a car accident in France. We all walked away – thanks largely to the fact that we were wearing our seatbelts. I shudder to think what might have happened had all the girls not been safely strapped in.

Apparently, in the wake of this most recent survey the Garda Traffic Corps has announced a “zero tolerance” approach to not wearing seatbelts. Instead of the standard caution, gardai will now issue a fixed penalty notice and penalty points as a matter of course. And not before time, it would seem.

The survey also revealed that only 69% of women and just 52% of men routinely buckle up when they get in the car… which, given the carnage on our roads, is a woeful statistic. It seems that on the roads, like everywhere else, a significant portion of the Irish population are only prepared to play by the rules if somebody’s breathing down their neck to enforce them. Basically if they think they can get away with something, they will – regardless of the consequences. It’s a dangerous game – the mounting fatalities on our roads are ample testament to that.

It’s one thing for an adult travelling alone to choose not to fasten their seatbelt. However foolish, their decision is only likely to impact their own safety. Parents though have a much broader spectrum of responsibility. It’s our job to protect our children; to keep them safe. No matter which way you look at it, choosing not to fasten your child’s seatbelt amounts to wilfully putting them in harms way. It goes against every instinct of parenthood – and yet outside every primary school in the country you’ll see examples of it happening, day in, day out.

You wouldn’t let your children go off with a stranger, you wouldn’t leave them alone on a crowded street and you wouldn’t let them play with matches. So for goodness sake, make sure they belt up before you drive off! If you don’t, and the worst happens, you’ll never be able to forgive yourself.

Technorati Tags: parenting, seatbelts, Ireland, Evening Echo